Hurricane Arthur weakens to a post-tropical storm

A beachcomber walks by the Oceanana Fishing Pier in Atlantic Beach, N.C. Hurricane Arthur began moving offshore and away from North Carolina's Outer Banks early Friday after hitting the state's barrier islands overnight and causing flooding and thousands of power outages.(Photo: Randall Hill, AP)

Though he left downed trees and power outages in his wake, Arthur is no longer classified as a hurricane.

Downgraded to a post-tropical storm early Saturday, Arthur's powerful winds and heavy rain moved into southeastern Canada. They pelted the Canadian Maritime provinces after skidding by North Carolina on Friday, without causing major damage.

Weakening as it churned its way up the coast, the storm hit Nova Scotia on Saturday, halting play for the day at a major golfing event.

By midday Saturday, Arthur was centered about 95 miles west-northwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Winds estimated between 42 and 55 mph knocked down trees, but have caused less damage than originally feared. Nova Scotia Power reported that 113,000 customers were without power Saturday morning and 100,000 outages were reported in New Brunswick by afternoon. The most outages thus far were reported in Fredericton, which experienced wind speeds of more than 62 mph. Strong winds and heavy downpours are expected to continue over southeastern Canada through Saturday night. Some power had been restored and Nova Scotia Power hopes to have power fully restored by late Sunday.

Arthur caused flight delays and cancellations at the area's largest airport in Halifax, with heavy rain and strong winds expected to continue through the night, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

A number of electrical poles on Prince Edward Island were downed by the storm and roads were blocked by the fallen trees, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police reports.

The storm is likely to cross the Gulf of St. Lawrence Saturday night, with winds at around 60 mph.

Arthur reached landfall on North Carolina's Outer Banks last Thursday with winds of 100 mph, earning it a Category 2 status on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Later downgraded to a Category 1 as it moved northeast into colder Atlantic water, it interrupted holiday plans at the start of the Independence Day weekend. North Carolina reported some homes and businesses flooded and trees toppled. Various Fourth of July fireworks celebrations were postponed. About 20 feet of the road connecting Hatteras Island to the mainland buckled, but was being reopened Saturday in stages. Ocracoke Island, a popular tourist spot, was without power, but a generator was providing electricity on a rotating basis and power is likely to be restored by Sunday.

As in North Carolina, the New England states largely dodged the worst of the storm, with some power outages and downed trees in Maine and Vermont reported amid heavy rains and potent winds. Flooding was reported in Massachusetts, and the Nova Star Ferry suspended service Friday and Saturday due to dangerous seas. No injuries or deaths were reported.

The storm lashed the resort island of Nantucket with much wind and rain Friday night. Rain disrupted some New York-area fireworks celebrations but cleared in time for the nation's largest fireworks display in the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn. In Boston, the famed Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, which was already moved up a day because of weather, was cut short Thursday due to heavy rain and weather-created fireworks in the form of lightning.

Photographer Gary Brinton braves the elements on the rocks at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, as residents begin to feel the effects of tropical storm Arthur on July 5, 2014.(Photo: Andrew Vaughan, AP)

Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It is the earliest in the season a hurricane has made landfall in North Carolina.

Hurricane Arthur caused flooding on July 4, 2014, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. (Photo: David Weydert, U.S. Coast Guard, via AP)

Katie Bender, right, gets some assistance from Johanna Bender as they dump water from a boot while sitting on a flooded street after Hurricane Arthur passed through Manteo, N.C. (Photo: Gerry Broome, AP)

A man crosses a flooded highway as Hurricane Arthur passes through Nags Head, N.C., on July 4. Hurricane Arthur has moved back over the Atlantic and is projected to remain offshore this Fourth of July, after making landfall on the southern end of North Carolina's barrier islands Thursday with sustained winds up to 100 mph. (Photo: Gerry Broome, AP)

A beachcomber walks by the Oceanana Fishing Pier in Atlantic Beach, N.C. Hurricane Arthur began moving offshore and away from North Carolina's Outer Banks early Friday after hitting the state's barrier islands overnight and causing flooding and thousands of power outages. (Photo: Randall Hill, AP)

Workers repair power lines along Highway 58 in Emerald Isle, N.C., on July 4. Hurricane Arthur began moving offshore and away from North Carolina's Outer Banks early Friday after hitting the state's barrier islands overnight and causing flooding and thousands of power outages. (Photo: Randall Hill, AP)

A steady stream of traffic heads north on NC 12, the main road on Hatteras Island, N.C. Hurricane Arthur is forecast to pass by Hatteras on Friday morning; the island is under mandatory evacuation orders. (Photo: Steve Earley, AP)

Members of the large Garrison family from Kansas City, Mo., play in the surf before complying with the mandatory evacuation orders for Hatteras Island in Rodanthe, N.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images)

Newlyweds Seth and Ashley Miller don't let the coming of Hurricane Arthur ruin their big day as they celebrate on Atlantic Beach, N.C., after a small civil ceremony earlier in the day. (Photo: Chris Seward, AP)

New Bern Task Force 10 Comm. Jim McConnell checks out equipment in New Bern, N.C. McConnell and four other members of his unit were sent to Plymouth to stand by for emergency rescues. (Photo: Bill Hand, The New Bern Sun Journal, via AP)

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale categorizes storms based on their sustained wind speed and estimates property damage. Hurricanes reaching Category 3 or higher are considered major storms because of their potential for significant loss of life and property damage.

• Category 1. 74 to 95 mph. Very dangerous winds will produce some damage. Well-constructed frame homes could have damage to roof, shingles, vinyl siding and gutters. Large branches of trees will snap and shallowly rooted trees may be toppled. Extensive damage to power lines and poles likely will result in power outages that could last a few to several days.

• Category 2. 96 to 110 mph. Extremely dangerous winds will cause extensive damage. Well-constructed frame homes could sustain major roof and siding damage. Many shallowly rooted trees will be snapped or uprooted and block roads. Near-total power loss is expected with outages that could last several days to weeks.

• Category 3. 111 to 129 mph. Devastating damage will occur. Well-built framed homes may incur major damage or removal of roof decking and gable ends. Many trees will be snapped or uprooted. Electricity and water will be unavailable for several days to weeks afterward.

• Category 4. 130 to 156 mph. Catastrophic damage will occur. Well-built framed homes can sustain severe damage with loss of most of the roof structure and some exterior walls. Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

• Category 5. 157 mph and higher. Catastrophic damage will occur. A high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed with total roof failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Source: National Hurricane Center

How some previous hurricanes rate

Hurricanes don't always have to be intense to cause a lot of damage. Here are five of the most damaging ones in the past 25 years.

• Katrina, 2005. Though it reached Category 5 over the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 28, 2005. Katrina made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 3 storm. It was the deadliest hurricane since September 1928, and at $75 billion in estimated damage, it became the most expensive U.S. hurricane.

• Ivan, 2004. Hurricane Ivan was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall Sept. 16, 2004, just west of Gulf Shores, Ala., producing more than 100 tornadoes and heavy rain across the Southeast. Part of it also re-entered the Atlantic, drifted south, became a tropical storm again and hit southwest Louisiana as a tropical depression on Sept. 24. It caused $14.2 billion in U.S. property damage, the third highest on record. In the United States, 25 people died.

• Isabelle, 2003. By the time Isabelle came ashore Sept. 18, 2003, near Drum Inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks, it had become a tropical storm after reaching Category 5 status in the open ocean. But its storm surges of more than 8 feet made it the worst storm to hit the Chesapeake Bay region since 1933 with 17 deaths and more than $3 billion in damage.

• Floyd, 1999. Though this storm touched land Sept. 16, 1999, near Cape Fear, N.C., as a Category 2 hurricane, it is most remembered for its rainfall: more than 19 inches in Wilmington, N.C., almost 14 inches in Brewster, N.Y. In the U.S., 56 people died; the floods caused as much as $6 billion in damage.

• Andrew, 1992. When Hurricane Andrew made landfall in south Florida on Aug. 24, 1992, it was a Category 4 storm. It crossed the Gulf and hit the central Louisiana coast Aug. 26 as a Category 3 hurricane. Total U.S. damage was $26.5 billion, second highest on record; 26 died in the USA and the Bahamas.